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Twenty Years of Coastal Waterbird Trends Suggest Regional Patterns of Environmental Pressure in British Columbia, Canada

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Twenty Years of Coastal Waterbird Trends Suggest Regional Patterns of Environmental Pressure in British Columbia, Canada VOLUME 15, ISSUE 2, ARTICLE 20 Ethier, D., P. Davidson, G. H. Sorenson, K. L. Barry, K. Devitt, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, and D. W. Bradley. 2020. Twenty years of coastal waterbird trends suggest regional patterns of environmental pressure in British Columbia, Canada. Avian Conservation and Ecology 15(2):20. https:// doi.org/10.5751/ACE-01711-150220 Copyright © 2020 by the author(s). Published here under license by the Resilience Alliance. Research Paper Twenty years of coastal waterbird trends suggest regional patterns of environmental pressure in British Columbia, Canada Danielle Ethier 1, Pete Davidson 1, Graham H. Sorenson 1, Karen L. Barry 2, Karen Devitt 3, Catherine B. Jardine 1, Denis Lepage 1 and David W. Bradley 1 1Birds Canada, 2Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, 3City of Port Moody, British Columbia ABSTRACT. Waterbirds are often used as indicators of ecosystem function across broad spatial and temporal scales. Resolving which species are declining and the ecological characteristics they have in common can offer insights into ecosystem changes and their underlying mechanisms. Using 20 years of citizen science data collected by the British Columbia Coastal Waterbird Survey, we examine species-specific trends in abundance of 50 species in the Salish Sea and 37 species along the outer Pacific Ocean coast that we considered to form the core wintering coastal bird community of British Columbia, Canada. Further, we explore whether ecological commonalities increase the likelihood of a species undergoing declines by testing the hypotheses that waterbird abundance trends are influenced by dietary specialization and migration distance to breeding grounds. Results suggest that most populations are stable (i.e., temporal trends are not significant) in both the Salish Sea (36 of 50 spp.) and Pacific coast (32 of 37 spp.) regions. Twelve species displayed significant decline trends in the Salish Sea, whereas two had significant increases. Along the Pacific coast, only three species displayed significant decline trends, and two significant increases. This result is corroborated by guild-specific trends indicating that waterbirds occupying the Salish Sea are faring significantly worse than those residing along the outer coastal regions, almost irrespective of dietary specialization or migration distance. Our results provide evidence that differential environmental pressures between the inner and outer coastal regions may be causing overall loss of wintering waterbirds within, or abundance shifts away from, the Salish Sea. Potential mechanisms responsible for these observed patterns are discussed, including environmental (e.g., climate) and human-induced (e.g., nutrient and chemical pollution) pressures. Collaborative, inter-disciplinary research priorities to help understand these mechanisms are suggested. Vingt ans de suivi d'oiseaux aquatiques côtiers montrent des tendances régionales de pressions environnementales en Colombie-Britannique, Canada RÉSUMÉ. Les oiseaux aquatiques sont souvent utilisés comme indicateurs du fonctionnement des écosystèmes à de larges échelles spatiales et temporelles. La détermination des espèces en diminution et des caractéristiques écologiques qu'elles ont en commun permet de se faire une idée des changements dans les écosystèmes et des mécanismes sous-jacents. Au moyen de 20 ans de données de science citoyenne collectées lors du Coastal Waterbird Survey de la Colombie-Britannique, nous avons examiné les tendances dans l'abondance de 50 espèces dans la mer des Salish et de 37 espèces plus au large de la côte de l'océan Pacifique que nous avons considérées comme formant le noyau de la communauté d'oiseaux côtiers hivernant de la Colombie-Britannique, au Canada. En outre, nous avons étudié si les traits communs écologiques augmentaient la probabilité qu'une espèce subisse une baisse en testant les hypothèses selon lesquelles les tendances de l'abondance des oiseaux aquatiques étaient influencées par la spécialisation alimentaire et la distance de migration vers les sites de reproduction. Selon nos résultats, la plupart des populations étaient stables (c.-à-d. que les tendances temporelles n'étaient pas significatives) dans la mer des Salish (36 sur 50 sp.) et le long de la côte du Pacifique (32 sur 37 sp.). Douze espèces ont montré une tendance significative de diminution dans la mer des Salish, tandis que deux ont connu des augmentations significatives. Le long de la côte du Pacifique, seules trois espèces ont affiché une tendance à la baisse significative, et deux des augmentations significatives. Ce résultat est corroboré par les tendances propres à chaque guilde indiquant que les oiseaux aquatiques qui occupent la mer des Salish se portent nettement moins bien que ceux qui se tiennent plus au large des côtes, presque indépendamment de leur spécialisation alimentaire ou de leur distance de migration. Nos résultats montrent que les pressions environnementales variables entre les parties intérieures et extérieures des régions côtières peuvent être à l'origine de la perte globale des oiseaux aquatiques hivernant dans la mer des Salish ou d'un déplacement de ces oiseaux vers d'autres régions. Nous avons examiné les possibles mécanismes responsables des tendances observées, y compris les pressions environnementales (p. ex. le climat) et humaines (p. ex. la pollution par les nutriments et les produits chimiques). Enfin, nous proposons des priorités de recherche collaborative et interdisciplinaire pour faciliter la compréhension de ces mécanismes. Key Words: British Columbia; Citizen Science; coastal; monitoring; overwintering; Pacific; population trends; waterbirds; waterfowl Address of Correspondent: Danielle Ethier, P.O. Box 160, 115 Front Road, Port Rowan, ON Canada N0E 1M0, Phone: 519-586-3531 ext. 115, [email protected] Avian Conservation and Ecology 15(2): 20 http://www.ace-eco.org/vol15/iss2/art20/ INTRODUCTION species- and guild-specific trends in the Salish Sea and along the Human impacts on marine ecosystems are complex and outer Pacific coast. Specifically, we hypothesized that abundance widespread. Activities such as commercial fishing (e.g., Thrush et trends in waterbirds are influenced by dietary specialization and al. 1998), pollution (e.g., Kennish 2002), and climate change (e.g., migration distance. First, we predicted that abundance declines Harley et al. 2006) affect a diverse suite of flora and fauna, leading will be more prevalent in higher tropic feeders because this guild to complex and varying consequences for marine biodiversity. is generally more responsive to shifts in the availability and quality Unravelling these dynamic relationships and identifying the of prey (e.g., Ballance et al. 1997, Hyrenbach and Veit 2003, mechanisms driving declines in marine biodiversity continue to Ainley and Hyrenbach 2010, Vilchis et al. 2015). Second, we challenge ecologists (Möllmann and Diekmann 2012, Gamfeldt et predicted that abundance declines will be more pronounced in al. 2015). Comprehensive long-term monitoring programs that migrants because these populations are able to shift their range track ecosystem-wide trends in biodiversity and abundance are in response to resource availability more readily than local invaluable to this process because they provide information about breeders can (e.g., Burger and Gochfeld 1991, Marks and species in decline, their commonalities, and correlations with the Redmond 1994, Willie et al. 2020). Finally, we discuss potential hypothesized responsible drivers. Waterbirds are often considered mechanisms to stimulate future research and to inform to be ideal indicators of changes in marine productivity and conservation planning. ecosystem function across broad spatial and temporal scales because they are typically long-lived, migratory, and higher METHODS trophic-level feeders (Ainley and Hyrenbach 2010, Vilchis et al. 2015). Trends in waterbird abundance can therefore offer insights Study area into ecosystem changes happening locally and beyond and the The survey area extends from the north of Graham Island (54° conservation measures necessary to mitigate them. 02’36.3” N, 131°54’38.3” W) to the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada (48°19’04.3” N, 123°33’28.6” W; Fig. 1). There The coastline of British Columbia (BC), Canada, is home to are 326 survey routes in total, which cover a wide variety of habitat diverse and plentiful marine life, including many globally types, including: rocky shores, sandy beaches, salt marshes, important staging, molting, and wintering areas for waterbirds that mudflats, fast-flowing channels, and other inshore waters. The migrate along the Pacific Flyway (e.g., Important Bird and BC coast experiences the mildest winters in all of Canada, with Biodiversity Areas in Canada: https://www.ibacanada.com/). The temperatures rarely dropping below freezing (https://www. Salish Sea supports 172 bird species that are dependent on the welcomebc.ca/Choose-B-C/Explore-British-Columbia/Climate-of- region’s habitats, of which 72 are highly dependent on intertidal B-C). As a result, offshore and most inshore waters never freeze and marine habitats (Gaydos et al. 2008, Gaydos and Pearson completely, making the coastline and freshwater inflows attractive 2011). This coastline also supports large urban populations, to many wintering waterbirds that breed inland and further north. specifically in the south (e.g., Greater Vancouver Region), and maintains a strong economy based on ocean-based industries, which contribute $11
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